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Category: computing

General Motors will idle nearly all its assembly plants in North America starting Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic affects production of semiconductor chips overseas.

GM said its Arlington Assembly in Texas, where it makes its highly profitable full-size SUVs, will run regular production next week, along with Flint Assembly, where it makes its heavy-duty pickups, Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky, where it makes its Corvette, and a portion of Lansing Grand River Assembly, where it will make some Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac Blackwing cars.

But all other assembly plants in North America will idle starting Monday.

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In a new review article in Nature Photonics, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory assess the status of research into colloidal quantum dot lasers with a focus on prospective electrically pumped devices, or laser diodes. The review analyzes the challenges for realizing lasing with electrical excitation, discusses approaches to overcome them, and surveys recent advances toward this objective.

“Colloidal quantum dot lasers have tremendous potential in a range of applications, including integrated optical circuits, wearable technologies, lab-on-a-chip devices, and advanced medical imaging and diagnostics,” said Victor Klimov, a senior researcher in the Chemistry division at Los Alamos and lead author of the cover article in Nature Photonics. “These solution-processed quantum dot present unique challenges, which we’re making good progress in overcoming.”

Heeyoung Jung and Namyoung Ahn, also of Los Alamos’ Chemistry division, are coauthors.

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A piece of science fiction technology could be one step closer to reality with a new development in haptic holograms.

The idea of haptic, or touchable, holograms is familiar to millions from its appearance in sci-fi favorites like Star Trek’s holodeck, where characters can interact with solid-seeming computer simulations of people, objects and places.

Now, a team of engineers from the University of Glasgow have developed a new way to create the sensation of physically interacting with holographic projections.

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In a discovery published in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers has described a novel molecular device with exceptional computing prowess.

Reminiscent of the plasticity of connections in the human brain, the device can be reconfigured on the fly for different computational tasks by simply changing applied voltages. Furthermore, like nerve cells can store memories, the same device can also retain information for future retrieval and processing.

“The brain has the remarkable ability to change its wiring around by making and breaking connections between nerve cells. Achieving something comparable in a physical system has been extremely challenging,” said Dr. R. Stanley Williams, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. “We have now created a molecular device with dramatic reconfigurability, which is achieved not by changing physical connections like in the brain, but by reprogramming its logic.”

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The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has issued a G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for today and a G2 (Moderate) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for tomorrow.

Computer forecast models used by space weather experts suggest that a coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by region 2,680 on the Sun early on August 28 associated with an M4 flare may arrive later on September 1 creating minor geomagnetic storm conditions. According to the SWPC, activity could intensify into September 2 with the possible arrival of a second CME associated with a filament eruption that occurred later on August 28.

Should these CMEs materialize, combined effects from the two transients have the potential to result in G1-G2 storm conditions. The SWPC warns that forecast confidence is low due to the nature of these faint and somewhat ambiguous CMEs.

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Quantum Computing Platform Accelerates Transition from Bulk Optics to Integrated Photonics on a Silicon Chip Smaller Than a Penny

The quantum computing market is projected to reach $65 billion by 2,030 a hot topic for investors and scientists alike because of its potential to solve incomprehensibly complex problems.

Drug discovery is one example. To understand drug interactions, a pharmaceutical company might want to simulate the interaction of two molecules. The challenge is that each molecule is composed of a few hundred atoms, and scientists must model all the ways in which these atoms might array themselves when their respective molecules are introduced. The number of possible configurations is infinite—more than the number of atoms in the entire universe. Only a quantum computer can represent, much less solve, such an expansive, dynamic data problem.

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Summary: Researchers have discovered a new molecule that could increase the ultra-fast decision-making capabilities of computers. The simple molecule provides a new electronic circuit element in which complex logic is encoded in nanoscale material properties.

Source: University of Limerick.

An international team of scientists including researchers at University of Limerick in Ireland has discovered a new molecule that could further increase ultra-fast decision making in computers.

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Physicists and engineers have found a way to identify and address imperfections in materials for one of the most promising technologies in commercial quantum computing.

The University of Queensland team was able to develop treatments and optimize protocols in common techniques for building on silicon chips.

Dr. Peter Jacobson, who co-led the research, said the team had identified that imperfections introduced during fabrication reduced the effectiveness of the .

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The global semiconductor shortage has dealt another huge blow to Stellantis, with the automaker announcing new production issues. Semiconductors are the backbone of today’s automotive industry, controlling electronic features like driver-assist technologies, hybrid-electric systems, and even infotainment connectivity. This time, the shortage is affecting production for several of the company’s most popular vehicles in North America.

According to several United Auto Workers (UAW) local union websites and a report from the Automotive News, several Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, and Ram Truck vehicles will be affected by the latest shortage of semiconductor chips.

The biggest of those plants affected is the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) in Michigan, which is the only facility to manufacturer the highly successful Ram 1,500 pickup. The news comes as the plant is gearing up for the launch of its2022Ram 1,500 lineup later this month. SHAP’s 6,700+ hourly employees are temporarily laid off starting yesterday (August 30th) and will return the day after the Labor Day holiday (September 7th).

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